1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital recorder which is capable of recording, reproducing and/or editing an audio signal using digital techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a method of recording, reproducing and editing an audio signal, a magnetic recording and reproducing technique is employed in which an analog audio signal is recorded on a magnetic tape, and the recorded signal is reproduced and edited. Since this prior art involves a recording and reproducing process for a signal in an analog form, deterioration in sound quality is inevitable. In particular, the deterioration will be prominent when the once-recorded audio signal is dubbed.
Further, use of the magnetic tape as a recording medium raises problems such that it takes much time to reach a target editing point on the magnetic tape, and editing requires that the target recording portion of the magnetic tape be physically cut and pasted or be copied on somewhere else before the editing is executed actually.
The problem of the deterioration in sound quality can be overcome by employing a technical means that codes a signal into a digital form and records on a magnetic tape. However, there still remains a shortcoming concerning location of a starting point for editing and freedom of editing due to the use of a sequential-access type recording medium.
In recent, there has been proposed a solution to the conventional problems which used a hard disk or a magneto-optical disk as a memory medium. For instance, refer to U.S. Ser. No. 07/690,710 filed on Apr. 24, 1991, inventor: Nobuo IIZUKA, U.S. Ser. No. 07/752,876 filed on Aug. 30, 1991, inventor: Atsushi MIYAKE, U.S. Ser. No. 07/795,983 filed on Nov. 22, 1991, inventor: Nobuo IIZUKA and U.S. Ser. No. 07/807,053 filed on Dec. 12, 1991, inventor: Nobuo IIZUKA.
In recording audio data on and reproducing it from an external memory medium such as the hard disk and the magneto-optical disk, even though the audio data should include a continuous soundless portion therein, no specific measure is taken in conventional techniques for such soundless portion, resulting in poor economic efficiency of the memory medium.
Further, such a continuous soundless portion included in the audio data will make it difficult to insert a silent portion (a break) at an arbitrary position in the audio data.